‘I was the grand designer’ of Project IC
According to an aide to former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Anwar Ibrahim was not involved in the alleged Project IC scandal.
(FMT) –“It was top secret operation and Megat Junid warned me not to go to the ground of the operation (but remain in his very own operation),” he said adding he quit his role when he realised the project was being abused.
An aide of former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) that he was himself a “grand designer” of a plot to distribute some 20,000 voters in Usno’s weak area in the late 1980s.
Matswadi Awi, a former bank manager in Kota Kinabalu from 1985 to 1988, told the RCI he was hired by then Usno president Mustapha Harun and then deputy home minister Megat Junid Megat Ayob to lead in a top-secret operation to distribute newly-enlisted muslim voters in areas that Usno was weak but could win to unseat then ruling Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS).
“I was the grand designer of this project. I dealt direct with Megat Junid and Tun Mustapha,” he told the five-member investigating panel led by former Chief Judge of Borneo, Steve Shim.
He said he was alone in his secret operation room in Kuala Lumpur and received direct orders from Mustapha and Megat Junid, both of whom had long passed away.
“My job was to put in a data base all the names from “sacks” (berguni-guni) of photostated identity cards given to me (by Mustapha) and then distribute them to areas in Sabah to strengthen Usno for it to wrest power from PBS,” he explained of his design.
Matswadi, who is the 200th witness, also said that the names were sourced from illegal immigrants as well as Malaysian citizens especially from among Peninsular teachers serving in Sabah and the military staff as well as Felda settlers who were from Peninsular.
“I think one third of the 20,000 names were Malaysian citizens and the rest the immigrants (already in possession of either fake or genuine Malaysian documents),” he told the RCI.
Asked by inquiring officer if he knew these documents were genuine, Matswadi replied he would not know and that his job was to ensure the suggested newly-enlisted voters be distributed to bolster Usno’s chance.
He however agreed that though his operation was successful, PBS still won the state election, though narrowly, in 1994.
Asked why Mustapha had chosen him, instead of others including civil servants, for the task, Matswadi said he also did ask the late Usno leader who told him he was chosen because he was a banker and a good Muslim.
